In November, Apple was sentenced to pay a fine of €10m by the Italian competition authority, after the company marketed the iPhone as waterproof without, in the authority’s view, adequately explaining that it only applies in special circumstances.
Now Apple faces a further €60m (roughly £53m) in fines in Italy in the latest lawsuits related to the so-called Batterygate scandal. This was when the company deliberately slowed down older iPhones in order to extend battery life, a change that was made without informing customers and led to a huge number of complaints and legal actions.
Apple has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars in the US over Batterygate – $500m at first, and $113m a little later – and similar lawsuits are underway in Spain and Belgium. According to the news agency Reuters, there is talk of a class-action lawsuit in Portugal.
The European consumer organisation Euroconsumers will ensure that lawsuits against Apple are co-ordinated, which will increase the likelihood of success.
This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation by David Price.
